Who Does Melissa Auf Der Maur Think She Is?

From: Blender, 2004-05-01
Date added: 2004-12-28

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She’s the willowy 32-year-old bassist (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins) with a love of horses, hard liquor and swearing. But what exactly is her “firebush”? And, while we’re asking…

In your self-portrait, amid the Canadian flag and the redbird, there’s a drawing of you saying, “I love horses.”
Music and horses are somehow related to me. I’m a very romantic person, and when I see rock music in my head, I see landscapes — big rolling hills and horses traversing them. There’s a traditional kind of gallop in metal songs, like “Barracuda” or Led Zeppelin. It musters up visions of horses. The part of me that explores the rock rhythm is some sort of Viking who lives on horses.

So to you, horses aren’t just for teenage girls.
The horse is a very masculine thing; it’s a powerful beast. Like the horses in The Lord of the Rings — I’ve seen those horses before in my dreams as powerful, dangerous images, with blood dripping from the hooves. I love those images.

So are you in the Viggo Mortensen fan club?
He’s too human. Viggo isn’t who I’m impressed with; it’s the character. I’d go on a date with Aragorn, for sure.

What was your nickname in school?
My family still calls me Mouse. My friends at school called me Pumpkin Head — thank God that name was far away from me when I joined Smashing Pumpkins. And — oh! This is a good one for Blender — my band members call me Firebush [laughs]. Only the guys, though, not the girls.

What’s your favorite curse word?
The only one I really use is the good old standard f-u-c-k. I usually put a lot of fucks next to each other. “Don’t fucking fuck with me.” Or just “Fucking fuck!” I don’t like to be angry, though — you should work through it.

What song brings you to tears?
Any Elliott Smith song off his album Roman Candle. His music has always seemed very sad and fragile to me, and compacted with his death, I could muster up some tears, for sure.

Pinkie rings on men: yes or no?
No. Weird. Too much attention to anything in a man’s physical presentation freaks me out. Vanity in men is a turnoff. Smelling bad doesn’t bug me [laughs].

What are you like when you’re drunk?
I’m a good drunk. I laugh more, I swear more — oops! — and I become very animated with my arms. I grew up in a drinking community, the music community in Canada, and everybody drank. By 14, I was going to the Thunderdome, drinking bad draft beer. But I stick to gin, vodka, the simple…actually, no, that’s not true. I like all alcohol.

What’s the least and most money you’ve made in a year as an adult?
As a bass player, we get the shorter end of the deal, though to some people, it’s very much — $300,000 is the most I’ve made in the past 10 years of making music, and I lived off it for many years. Two years ago, I made $3,000, but I recorded the album I’m releasing now, so imagine the debt I found myself in.

How do you feel about pornography on the tour bus?
I’ve been in weird bands — it’s not the traditional scene of groupies and pornography and sports. I’ve been in pretty feminine bands, even the ones that had men in them.

Instead of porn and sports, what are the hobbies?
Tea and cakes [laughs]. No, it’s more like, talk, talk, talk and watch movies. And go to hipster fashion parties.

Are you a good girl or a bad girl?
A good girl, for sure. I follow my heart, I’m honest and I try to do the right thing.

And what about all the drinking, the swearing, the heavy metal…?
That’s just a little experiment.

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